because if president obama does win this election, one of the biggest debates, important to everybody and not just republicans, would be the debate inside the republican party about why they lost. and the right wing is going to want to blame romney, say he didn't present them and we have a stake with the tea party and the right. if, however, the republicans start losing some of these seats, losing and walsh and bachmann and allen west, then it's going to be harder for the right end of the party to argue our ideas went untainted and i think if some of these folks actually lose the election, the more moderate conservatives in the party will be able to say, this wasn't just about romney. this was about a set of ideas that put us way outside the mainstream and that's why these races and others like them really matter. >> karen, in light of that, because that is exactly what i'm driving at -- >> yep. >> joe walsh is running against tam knee duck worth in illinois. he's losing the race by 14 points. some of the biggest tea party seats in the house are being challenged. michele bachmann swep